m?8. 


C    E    b7b    13fi 


SEW     YORK     AOADEMV     oF     MEDICINE. 

1877. 


AN    ADDRESS 


Medical  Libraries  of  New  York. 


NEW    YORK    ACADEMY     OF    MEDICINE. 

1877. 


AN    ADDRESS 


ON  THE 


Medical  Libraries  of  Neav  York, 


New    York     Academy     of    MlEdicine, 

12   West  TUrty.jirst  Street. 
Eegiilar  Meetings,  First  and  Third  Thursday  Evenings  in  the  Month. 


OFFICERS     FOR    18  77. 

President. 
Samuel   S.  Pukpi>e,  M.D. 

Vice-Presidents. 

GOUVERNEUK    M.    SMITH,   M.D.,  FOKDYCE    BARKER,   M.D., 

William  T.  White,  M.D. 

Btcording  Secretary.  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Horace  T.  Hanks,  M.D.  John  G.  Adams,  M.D. 

Treasurer. 

Horace  P.  Farnham,  M.D. 

Trustees. 
Edmund  R.  Peaslee,  M.D.,  James  L.  Banks,  M.D., 

Austin  Flint,  M.D.,  Samuel  T.  Hubbard,  M,D., 

Isaac  E.  Taylor,  M.D. 


Librarian. 

Laurence  Johnson,  M.D. 

Edwin  R.  Purple,  Assistant. 

Assistant  Secretary.  Statistical  Secretary. 

Edwin  F.  Ward,  M.D.  Allan  McL.  Hamilton,  M.D. 


COMMITTEES     FOR     1877. 

Committee  on  Admissions. 
Ellsworth  Eliot,  M.D.,   Chairman,         Edward  H.  Janes,  M.D., 
Mark  Blumestual,  KD.,  T.  Matlack  Cheesmax,  M.D., 

Joseph  K  Janvrin,  M.D. 

Committee  on  Medical  Ethics. 
Oliver  White,  M.D.,  Chairman,  Thomas  C.  Finnell,  M.D., 

T.  Matlack  Cheesmax,  M.D.,  Moreau  Morris,  M.D., 

John   C.  Peters,  M-D. 

Committee  on  Medical  Education. 
Alfred  C.  Post,  M.D.,  Chairman,  James  R.  Leaming,  M.D., 

Edmund  R.  Peaslee,  M.D.,  Charles  C.  Lee,  M.D., 

Frederick  A.  Burrall,  M.D. 

Committee  on  Librai'y. 
James  R.  Leamino,  M.D.,  Chairman,      John  H.  Hinton.  M.D.. 
E.  Darwin  Hudson,  Jr.,  M.D.,  George  Bayles,  MD.,  Sc<»vto7^, 

Laurence  Johnson,  M.D. 

Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
James  Anderson,  M.D.,  Chairman,        Willard  Parker.  M.D.. 
Samuel  T.  Hubbard,  M.D.,  Jared  Linsly,  M.D., 

John  G.  Adams,  M.D.,  Stephen  Smith,  M.D., 

Sahubl  S.  Purple,  M.D.,  GouverneurM.  Smith,  M.D.,/S<!»'y- 

Committee  on  Building. 
Samuel  T.  Hubbard,  M.D.,  James  L.  Banks,  M.D. 


SECTIONS. 

Section  on  Surgery. 

Regular  Meeting,  Second  Tuesday  Evening  in  the  Month. 

Stephen   Smith,  M.D.,  Chairman,  A.  B.  Judson,  MD.,  Secretary. 

Section  on  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine. 

Regular  Meeting,  Third  Tuesday  Evening  in  the  Month. 

Gouverneur  M.  Smith,  M.D.,  Chairman,    A.  A.  Smith,  M.D.,  Secretary. 

Section  on  Obstetrics  and  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children. 

Regular  Meeting,  Third  Monday  Evening  in  the  Month. 

Isaac  R  Taylor,  M.D.,  Chairman,        Salvatore  C.\ro,  M.D.,  Secretary. 


LIST   OF  PUBLICATIONS 

OF    THE 

New    York     Academy    of    M.edicine. 

The.  following  Publications  of  the  Academy  can  be  obtained  at  the  Library^  13 
West  ^\st  Street,  on  a^yplication  to  the  Librarian  *  at  the  prices  affixed ;  or  the 
same  may  be  had  in  exchange  for  medical  works,  etc.,  not  already  in  the  Library. 

T  I^  A  N  S  A  G  T  I  O  N  S . 

First  Series.     Vols.  1,  pages  461  ;  2,  pages  454,  and  3,  pages  476  ;  each,  $2  HO 
Second  Series.    Vols.  1,  pages  429,  and  2,  pages  502 ;  each 4  00 

BULLETIN. 

Vols.  1,  pages  588  ;  2,  pages  562  ;  3,  pages  470,  and  4,  pages  204;  each,     2  00 

Jt^^  Single  Parts  of  the  Transactions  and  Bulletin  will  be  sold  separately 
(when  complete  sets  are  not  broken  by  so  doing)  at  the  rate  of  ten  cents  for 
every  sixteen  pages. 

Copies  of  the  Transactions,  Vols.  1  and  2,  Second  Series,  in  cloth,  will  be 
exchanged,  with  Fellows  of  the  Academy,  for  copies  in  paper,  by  the  pay- 
ment of  fifty  cents  each  volume. 

ADDRESSES  AND  MEMOIRS. 

Dr  John  W.  Francis'  Anniversary  Discourse 1847.  $0  25 

Dr.  John  W.  Francis'  Inaugural  Address 1848.  10 

Dr.  James  R.  Manley's  Anniversary  Discourse 1848.  25 

Dr.  Valentine  Mott's  Inaugural  Address 1849.  10 

Dr.  Alfred  C.  Post's  Anniversary  Oration 1849.  25 

Dr.  Isaac  Wood's  Inaugural  Address 1850.  10 

Dr.  Joseph  M.  Smith's  Anniversary  Discourse 1850.  25 

Dr.   Thomas  Cock's  Inaugural  Address 1852.  10 

Dr.  F.  Campbell  Stewart's  Anniversarv  Discourse 1852.  25 

Dr.  E.  Delafield's  Biographical  Sketch  of  J.  Kearny  Rodgers,M.D.  1852.  25 

Dr.  John  H.  Griscom's  Anniversary  Discourse 1854.  25 

Dr.  John  Watson's  Anniversary  Discourse,  ' '  The  Medical  Profes- 
sion in  Ancient  Times  " 1855.     1  00 

Dr.  J.  M.  Sims'  Anniversary  Discourse,  "Silver  Sutures  in  Surgery".  1857.  50 

Dr.  J.  P.  Batchelder  s  Inaugural  Address 1858.  1 0 

Dr.  E.   R.  Peaslee's  Anniversary   Discourse,   "The  Progress  and 

the  Spirit  of  Medical  Science  " 1858.  .';() 

Dr.  Wm.  C.  Roberts'  Anniversary  Discourse 1859.  2.") 

Dr.  John  Watson's  Anniversary  Discourse,  "  The  True  Physician  ".I860.  2"> 

Dr.  James  Anderson's  Inaugural  Address 1861.  1 0 

Dr.  Mott's  Eulogy  on  Dr.  J.  W.  Francis 1861.  25 

Dr.  S.  Conant  Foster's  Anniversary  Address 1862.  25 

Dr.  John  W.  Draper's  Anniversary  Discourse 1863.  25 

Dr.  A.  C.  Post's  Eulogy  on  Dr.  Valentine  Mott.     Steel  Portrait.  .1865.  50 
Portrait  of  Dr.  V.  Mott  on  India  Paper.  Small  4to,  50c. ;  large  4to.              1  00 

Dr.  James  Anderson's  Valedictory  Address 1867.  20 

Dr.  Gouverneur  M.  Smith's  Anniversary  Discourse 1869.  25 

Dr.  John  C.  Dalton's  Anniversary  Discourse 1873.  25 

Dr.  D.  B.  St.  John  Roosa's  Anniversary  Discourse 1874.  15 

Dr.  Austin  Flint's  Valedictory  and  Dr.  Purple's  Inaugural 1875.  15 

Dr.  E.  Darwin  Hudson,  Jr.'s,  Anniversary  Discourse 1875.  15 

Dr.  Wm.  T.  White's  Anniversary  Discourse 1876.  20 

♦  PF"  The  Library  is  open  daily  from  8  to  5  o'clock  p.m.,  Sundays  and  Holidays  excepted. 


MEDICAL  LIBEAEIES; 


AN  ADDRESS   DELIVERED   BEFORE   THE  NEW  YORK 

ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE,   JANUARY  18,   1877,    ON 

TAKING    THE    CHAIR  AS  PRESIDENT  A 

SECOND  TERM. 


m 
SAMUEL    S.  PURPLE,  M.D., 

PRESIDENT. 


NEW  YORK: 
PRINTED    FOR   THE    ACADEMY, 

12  West  Thirty-first  Street. 
•  1877. 


iCHOOl 


K.XGHt^HiiX. 


ADDRESS. 


FELLOWS  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE: 

In  yielding  to  the  requirements  of  an  established  custom,  the 
obligations  of  which  devolve  upon  me  by  reason  of  your 
choice  a  second  time,  to  occupy  the  honorable  position  and 
discharge  the  duties  of  your  presiding  officer,  I  have  been  led 
to  believe  that  on  this  occasion  the  interests  of  this  Institution 
can  be  promoted,  possibly,  in  no  better  way  than  by  a  brief 
survey  of  the  progress  that  this  Academy  has  made  during  the 
past  two  years — the  means  which  have  been  adopted  and  are 
still  required  to  extend  its  beneficial  influence. 

To  speak  of  causes  which  retard  the  scientific  growth  of 
medical  associations,  and  of  professional  harmony,  which  causes 
necessarily  exist  in  all  commercial  cities,  is  no  purpose  of  mine. 
These  will,  as  social  intercourse,  literary  culture,  and  the  love 
of  science  become  more  deeply  implanted  in  the  hearts,  and 
age  matures  the  judgment  of  medical  men,  take  to  themselves 
wings  and  fly  away.  They  will  hide  themselves  in  narrow 
and  sordid  minds,  who  soon  pass  from  the  active  stage  of 
medical  life,  and,  like  falling  stars,  leave  no  track  behind 
them. 

First,  then,  of  the  material  progress  of  this  Academy  :  Two 
yeai*8  ago  this  month,  your  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
after  several  years  of  earnest  effort  to  acquire  the  requisite 
funds,  had  just  engaged  to  purchase  this  comfortable  and  com- 
modious building  for  the  use  of  the  Academy  and  of  the  pro- 
fession. That  Committee,  acting  upon  instructions,  as  soon  as 
possession  of  the  property  could  be  obtained,  prepared  it  for 
use,  and  on  the  20th  of  May,  1875,  this  Academy,  for  the  firet 


8  DR.  purple's  address 

time,  held  a  meeting  in  its  own  home.  The  limits  of  the 
present  time  will  not  permit  me  to  detail  the  interesting  exer- 
cises of  that  occasion.  Justice  to  the  memory  of  departed 
fonnders  of  this  Institution,  however,  demands  that  I  should 
state  that  portraits  in  oil  of  Drs.  John  Stearns,  Joseph  M. 
Smith,  Galen  Carter,  and  Gilbert  Smith,  all  founders  of  this 
Academy,  all  exemplary,  honorable,  most  worthy,  and  active 
members  of  the  medical  profession  in  this  city,  were  on  that 
evening  donated  by  venerating  friends,  and  placed  upon  our 
walls ;  and  those  of  Drs.  Isaac  Wood,  John  Watson,  James 
Anderson,  and  Alfred  Underhill,  also  original  members,  were 
soon  after  added  to  our  gallery,  where,  by  striking  resemblance 
to  the  distinguished  originals,  and  constant  presence,  they  will 
act  as  prompters  of  professional  zeal  and  social  harmony.  I 
see  here  to-night  only  a  few  of  their  contemporaries.  Many  of 
the  original  members  have  passed  away  to  that  bourne  from 
which  no  traveller  returns.  May  we  not  hope  that  ere  long 
likenesses  of  these,  our  honored  dead,  may  alpo  be  placed  upon 
our  walls,  by  loving  wives,  affectionate  children,  or  kind 
friends,  to  which  we  may  direct  the  attention  of  the  rising 
members  of  our  profession,  and  to  whom  we  may  say  ;  "  These 
are  our  jewels  ?  " 

Viewed  from  a  scientific  standpoint,  the  proceedings  of  the 
stated  meetings  and  the  papers  read  before  the  Academy 
during  the  period  now  under  review,  have  been  equal  to,  if  not 
in  advance  of,  previous  years.  Many  of  the  papers  read  here 
have  been  published  at  once  in  the  leading  medical  journals  of 
this  country  ;  while  others  of  uinisual  merit  in  the  different 
divisions  of  medicine,  have,  under  instructions  emanating  from 
the  Council,  been  by  the  Committee  on  Publication  carried 
through  the  press  and  published  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  in  a 
comely  volume  of  over  five  hundred  octavo  pages,  which  will, 
for  scientific  merit,  beauty  of  typography,  and  commendable 
appearance,  compare  favorably  -with  the  publications  of  sister 
institutions  either  in  this  country  or  Europe, 

A  revised  edition  of  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws,  which 


ON   MEDICAL   LIBRARIES.  » 

included  a  list  of  Fellows  and  contributors  to  the  Building 
Fund,  was  published  in  August  last,  which  represents  more 
perfectly  the  condition  of  the  Fellowship  of  tlie  Academy 
than  any  previous  publication ;  and,  finally,  the  instructive  and 
interesting  Anniversary  Discourses  of  Drs.  Hudson  and  Win. 
T.  "White  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  members  in  a 
printed  form.  The  aggregate  cost  of  all  these  publications 
represents  about  thirty  per  cest,  of  the  annual  dues  paid  by 
the  members,  which,  behig  gratuitously  distributed  among 
them,  may  be  regarded  in  the  nature  of  a  dividend  to  those 
who  have  paid  the  "  annual  tax." 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  Institution,  unlike  some  others, 
recognizes  the  moneys  paid  into  the  treasury  as  in  the  nature 
of  trust  funds,  which  should  only  be  used  for  the  comfort, 
edification,  and  improvement  of  its  Fellowship,  and  the  pro- 
fession. 

And  this  brings  me  to  a  subject  which  has  claims  upon  the 
attention  of  the  Fellows  of  no  ordinary  importance.  It  will  be- 
remembered  by  those  who  have  carefully  studied  our  constitu- 
tion and  laws,  that  our  very  worthy  and  honorable  Board  of 
Trustees  are  invested  with  the  charge  of  the  "  Building  Fund 
and  its  accumulations  by  interest,  donation,  or  bequest,  and  of 
all  other  invested  funds  of  the  Academy;"  and  it  is  made  their 
duty  "  safely  to  invest,  to  collect  the  interest  on,  and  hold  the 
securities  for  any  moneys  of  the  Academy  intrusted  to  their 
care  ;  to  report  the  modes  of  investment  and  the  condition  of 
the  funds  or  property  to  the  council,  when  required,  and  annu- 
ally to  the  Academy."  Already  donations  to  the  fii*st-named 
fund  have  been  made,  and  the  earnest  and  prompt  attention 
and  aid  of  the  Fellows  is  called  to  its  immediate  increase. 
May  we  rot  expect  that  additional  zeal  will  be  incited  in  the 
membership  of  this  Academy  by  the  attainment  of  an  object 
which,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  will  be  reached  at  no  distant 
day,  through  the  honorable  the  Legislature  of  this  State  ? — the 
realization  of  which  will  again  markedly  demonstrate  the  wise 
and  comprehensive  foresight  of  those  who  have  been  trusted^ 


10  DR.  purple's  address 

and  have  not  been  found  wanting  in  their  devotion  to  the  best 
interests  of  this  Institution. 

If  we  recall  the  results  attained  during  the  past  year,  both  in 
the  number  and  value  of  books  received  into  our  library,  there 
probably  will  not  be  a  Fellow  of  this  Academy  but  will 
be  surprised  and  possibly  stimulated  to  extend  a  helping  hand 
to  push  forward  a  work  which  has  much  to  commend  itself  to 
ail.  From  the  first  annual  report  of  your  Library  Committee, 
we  gather  these  facts  :  There  were  received  into  the  Library,  by 
donation  and  bequest,  during  the  year  1876,  one  thousand  and 
seventy-six  bound  volumes,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
forty-five  medical  pamphlets  and  miscellaneous  medical  jour- 
nals, twenty  anatomical  and  pathological  plates,  ten  lithographic 
portraits  of  distinguished  medical  men,  and  three  plaster  busts. 
All  from  sixty-three  donors.  Of  this  number  three  hundred  and 
eighty-four  volumes  were  received  by  legacy  from  our  ever  to 
be  remembered  friend  and  distinguished  associate  Fellow,  the 
late  Dr.  John  Osgood  Stone,  whose  sudden,  but  not  to  him  un- 
expected death,  on  the  7th  of  June  last,  cast  a  gloom  over  a 
wide  circle  of  friends,  and  also  of  the  whole  community. 
His  interest  in  the  Academy  had  been  previously  manifested 
by  valuable  gifts  to  our  Library,  and  to  the  Building  Fund. 
May  we  not  hope  that  this  last  evidence  of  his  good  will,  as  well 
as  that  so  kindly  shown  us  by  his  bereaved  widow,  w^ill  prove 
suggestive  to  many  others  of  our  number? 

As  these  results  have  been  reached  through  voluntary  dona- 
tions and  bequests,  with  scarcely  any  pecuniary  outlay  from 
the  treasury  of  the  Academy,  may  we  not  expect  that  a  mod- 
erate amount  of  pecuniary  aid,  combined  with  like  efforts,  and 
the  institution  of  a  Library  Fund  during  the  present  year,  will 
place  the  library  of  this  Academy  upon  a  sure  basis,  and  soon 
cause  it  to  rank  among  the  first  in  this  country  ?  Then  and 
not  till  then,  will  it  fully  meet  the  required  wants  of  the  Fel- 
lows and  those  of  the  profession. 

But  here,  at  this  stage  of  my  desultory  remarks,  I  am  re- 
minded that  there  are  some  who  doubt  the  feasibility,  and  also 


ON    MEDICAL    LIBRARIES.  11 

the  permanency  of  any  snccess  in  this  direction.  Bnt  let  me  ask, 
do  not  historic  records  prove  that  in  no  period  of  the  history  of 
the  art  or  science  of  medicine  has  any  great  improvement  been 
made  through  the  labors  of  the  many  ?  Xearly  all  has  been 
accomplished  through  the  zeal  and  effort  of  a  few  individuals. 
Witness  the  advance  made  in  anatomy  and  physiology  by  the 
world-renowned  Harvey ;  the  advance  in  practical  medicine  by 
Britain's  distinguished  physician,  Bright ;  Ireland's  careful  and 
intelligent  clinical  observer,  Stokes  ;  or — turning  our  attention 
to  our  own  country — the  advance  in  gynaecology,  by  a  Kentucky 
backwoodsman,  the  cautious  yet  bold  McDowell,  the  father  of 
ovariotomy ;  or — coming  still  nearer  h<^me — the  advance  in  con- 
servative and  operative  surgery  by  a  former  President  of  this 
Academy. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  direct  your  attention  to 
the  history  of  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  by  the  profession 
in  this  city  to  establish  a  librar}',  to  meet  the  wants  of  medical 
men.  The  first  notice  we  have  of  the  existence  of  a  medical 
library  here,  connected  with  a  medical  organization,  goes  no 
further  back  than  the  year  1787,  and  is  that  belonging  to  the 
"  Medical  Society"  as  it  was  then  called.  This  Society  was  in- 
stituted previous  to  the  war  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
is  alluded  to  in  a  discourse  by  Dr.  Peter  Middleton,  published 
in  1769.*  Upon  the  capture  of  this  city  by  the  British  forces 
under  Howe  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  in  September,  1776,  it  sus- 
pended operations,  and  was  not  resuscitated  until  the  fall  of 
1784r.  I  have  as  yet  failed  to  find  any  mention  of  a  Library  in 
connection  with  this  Society  before  1787. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1794,  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  was  organ  ized,t  and  Dr.  John  Charlton 

*  A  Medical  Discourse,  or  an  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Ancient  History  and 
Present  State  of  Medicine  :  The  Substance  of  which  was  Delivered  at  Open- 
ing the  Medical  School  in  the  City  of  New  York.  By  Peter  Middleton,  M.D., 
And  Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic  in  King's  College. 
Printed  by  Desire.  New  York  :  Printed  by  Hugh  Gaine,  in  Hanover  Square, 
M.DCCLXIX. 

A  copy  of  this  work  is  in  the  Library  of  this  Academy. 

t  MS.  Minutes  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  from  1794 


12  DR.  purple's  address 

elected  President,  ana  Dr.  John  R.  B.  Bodgers,  Secretary. 
ITegotlatioiis  were  immediately  entered  into  to  purchase  the 
library  of  the  "  Medical  Society,"  and  in  December  of  the 
same  year  the  Librarian,  Dr.  William  Pitt  Smith,  was  ordered 
to  transfer  the  same  by  sale  to  tlie  newly  oi-ganized  Society. 
On  the  i3th  of  January,  1T95,  Dr.  David  Ilosack  was  appointed 
Librarian,  and  the  books  were  placed  under  his  care,  subject  to 
the  rules  of  the  City  Library,  then  located  in  tlie  City  Hall,  and 
to  which  in  the  following  summer  this  Library  was  removed. 
On  the  11th  of  April,  1797,  a  Committee,  consisting  of  Drs. 
John  K.  B.  Rodgers,  James  Tillery,  and  William  Ilamersley, 
was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Governors  of  the  New  York 
Hospital  on  the  subject  of  uniting  this  Library  with  the  one 
which  they  had  instituted  in  Jnly,  1796,  in  connection  with 
the  Hospital,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Medical  Faculty 
of  Columl)ia  College,  and  to  which  they  had  appropriated  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  medical  books. 
On  the  10th  of  October  following,  the  Committee  reported  that 
tliey  had  failed  to  accomplish  the  object  contemplated,  and 
were  discharged.  In  July,  1800,  the  censors  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  authorized  Dr.  Nicholas 
Romayne,  then  in  London,  to  purchase  books  to  the  amount  of 
fifty  dollars  ;  these  books  came  into  their  possession  in  October 
of  that  year.  On  the  11th  of  January,  1803,  the  Society  re- 
ceived a  donation  of  several  volumes  from  Dr.  John  Coakley 
Lettaom,  of  London,  In  the  spring  of  1805  negotiations  be- 
tween the  Society  and  the  Governors  of  the  New  York  Hospital 
were  renewed,  and  on  the  9th  of  April  of  that  year  the  Society 
passed  the  following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  members  be  appointed 
to  confer  with  the  Governors  of  the  New  York  Hospital  on  the 
subject  of  assigning  the  Library  of  t|iis  Society  to  the  said  Gov- 
ernors, for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  Library  of  the  Hospital, 
and  that  they  propose  as  a  condition   that  present  members  of 

to  1806,  recently  donated  to  the  Library  of  this  Academy  by  Dr.  S.  W.  Francis, 
of  Newport,  Rhode  Island. 


ON   MEDICAL   LIBRARIES.  13 

this  Society  shall  become  entitled  to  a  share  in  said  Library, 
whicli  sliare  shall  descend  to  a  son,  provided  he  shall  become  a 
regular  bred  physician  and  a  resident  practitioner  in  this  city. 

''''Resolved^  That  Drs.  Tillery,  Stringham,  and  Hamersley  be 
that  committee." 

The  result  of  these  negotiations  was  the  transfer  of  the  Li- 
brary  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the 
summer  of  1805,  to  the  Governors  of  the  New  York  Hospital, 
substantially  upon  the  terms  of  the  resolution  just  recited. 
The  following  year,  1806,  tiie  Society  was  merged  into  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  New  York. 

Proposals  to  establish  a  Library  under  the  auspices  of  the  Medi- 
cal Society  of  the  County  of  New  York  were  advocated  by 
the  late  Dr.  David  llosack,  in  his  inaugural  address,  as  Presi- 
dent of  that  Society,  in  1824.  These  proposals  were  again 
urged  by  the  late  Dr.  Peixotto,  in  an  address,  on  a  similar 
occasion,  in  1831.  The  latter  gentleman  supplemented  the 
scheme  by  advocating  the  establishment  of  a  "  Library  Fund," 
the  more  effectually  to  accomplish  the  object.  I  am  not 
aware  that  this  latter  suggestion  was  ever  carried  into 
effect.  The  records  of  tlie  Society  show  that  the  formation  of 
a  Library  was  begun  in  1825,  and  that  a  degree  of  success 
attended  the  effort.  In  July,  1831,  the  following  statement 
was  made  by  Dr.  Peixotto,  in  his  inaugural  address  on  assum- 
ing the  Presidency,  of  the  Society  :  "  Little  success  has  as  yet 
attended  the  attempt  to  form  a  Library  worthy  of  the  character 
of  our  city,  or  adequate  to  supply  the  wants  of  an  extended 
medical  community.  The  time  has,  however,  arrived,  when 
we  may,  without  exaggerated  hopes,  set  about  instituting  a  New 
York  Medical  Society  Library.  The  mere  number  of  our 
members  is  now  so  great,  that  a  very  small  contribution  from 
each,  either  in  books  or  money,  as  an  outfit,  would  form  a 
respectacle  nucleus,  which  would  not  fail  to  be  augmented  by 
additional  supplies.  These  would  be  furnished  partly  by  indi- 
vidual liberality,  partly  by  small  annual  contributions  from 
each  member,  and,  perhaps,  Ave  might  venture  to  hope,  not 


14  DR.  pueple's  address 

altogether  vainly,  by  public  munificence.  The  distinguished 
incumbent  of  this  chair  (Dr.  Hosacjk),  to  whom  I  have  already 
had  occasion  to  allude,  long  since  promised  to  exercise  his 
usual  liberality  in  the  promotion  of  this  great  object ;  and  I 
sin(!erely  believe  that  he  is  only  prevented  from  evincing  his 
munificence  by  the  indifference  of  the  Society,  and  by  the 
want  of  suitable  accommodations  to  receive  and  preserve  valu- 
able books.  Other  resources  will  not  be  wanting,  I  know,  to 
enrich  the  collection,  I  respectfully  suggest  the  adoption  of 
immediate  measures  to  enforce  the  success  of  so  desirable  an 
object.  To  this  effect,  let  a  separate  fund,  to  be  entitled  the 
"  Library  Fund,"  be  forthwith  instituted  ;  and  for  its  accumu- 
lation we  may  confidently  rely  on  the  generous  zeal,  no  less 
than  the  notorious  wants  of  every  member  of  the  profession." 

From  the  time  of  this  earnest  appeal  a  moderate  degree  of 
advance  was  made,  and  several  hundred  volumes  were  gathered 
together,  and,  within  the  recollection  of  some  of  those  present, 
kept  in  the  house  of  the  Secretary,  Dr.  Henry  S.  Downs. 
Subsequently,  about  1862,  by  order  of  the  Censors  of  the 
Society,  the  collection  was  sold,  and  all  further  efforts  to- 
wards the  formation  of  a  Library  by  this  time-honored  Society 
ceased. 

The  Library  of  the  ISTew  York  Hospital,  as  we  have  before 
intimated,  had  its  origin  in  a  recommendation  made  by  the  Medi- 
cal  Faculty  of  Columbia  College,  in  June,  1795,  to  the  Govern- 
ors of  ^the  Hospital,  who,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1796,  acting  upon 
suggestions,  appropriated  "  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars 
towards  the  pui-chase  of  a  Medical  Library  ;  to  which  the 
members  of  that  faculty  contributed  books  from  their  private 
libraries,  and  part  of  their  fees  of  public  instruction.  An  Hos- 
pital Library  was  thus  instituted,  which  was  further  augmented 
by  the  purchase  of  the  medical  library  of  the  late  Dr.  Eoinayne, 
in  1800,  and  by  the  accession,  in  1805,  of  the  library  of  a  pri- 
vate association  of  physicians,  then  called  "  The  Medical  So- 
ciety of  the  State  of  New  York,"  before  referred  to,  who  gave 
their  books,  on  condition  that  thev  and  such  of  their  sons  as 


ON   MEDICAL    LIBRARIES.  15 

should  become  practitioners  of  medicine  in  the  city  of  New 
York  should  have  free  use  of  the  Hospital  Library. 

In  1805  the  Governors  appropriated  the  annual  sum  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  books  ;  and 
other  large  additions  were  afterwards  made  to  it  by  special 
purchases  from  time  to  time,  among  which  was  the  valuable 
botanical  libraiy  of  Dr.  Hosack,  bought  by  the  Hospital. 
This  valuable  library,  which  has  from  its  origin  possessed  a  per- 
manent home,  is  the  largest  and  in  some  respects  the  most  com- 
plete collection  in  this  city.  It  numbers  near  ten  thousand 
volumes,  and  its  average  yearly  increase  is  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  volumes.  It  is  under  the  guardianship  of 
one  whom  we  are  pleased  to  say  is  an  original  member  of  this 
Academy,  and  who  for  more  than  thirty  years  has  labored  to 
promote  its  interests  in  all  legitimate  ways. 

The  Medical  Journal  Association  of  the  City  of  New  York 
was  organized  in  the  autumn  of  1864,  and  has  included  among 
its  members  many  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  profession 
in  the  city.  Its  original  plan  was  to  establish  only  a  library  of 
medical  journals  and  monographs,  to  the  exclusion  of  ordinary 
medical  works.  A  change  was  made  in  this  plan,  followed  by 
the  purchase  of  the  libraries  of  the  late  Drs.  Batchelder,  Elliot, 
and  Foster,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  four  thousand  dollai-s,  an  inno- 
vation which  created  some  division  of  sentiment,  and  finally 
led  to  the  dispersion  of  the  collection  of  medical  books,  which 
formed  the  greater  part  of  this  library,  and  a  restoi'ation  of  the 
primary  objects  for  which  the  Association  Avas  organized. 

The  late  Dr.  Valentine  Mott,  by  a  provision  of  his  will,  di- 
rected that  his  library  and  surgical  instruments  should  not  be 
sold  or  divided,  but  preserved  together  and  placed  in  a  room, 
specially  appropriated  to  that  purpose,  during  the  lifetime  of 
his  wife,  who  might  bequeath  them  to  one  or  more  of  his 
grandsons  who  should  bear  his  name,  study  medicine,  be  a 
graduate,  and  have  a  respectable,  honorable  name.  This  li- 
brary, with  that  of  the  late  Dr.  Isaac  Wood,  forms  that  known 
as  the  Mott  Memorial,  Medical,  and  Surgical  Library. 


16  DK.  pueple's  address 

Other  libraries,  or  small  collections  of  medical  books,  exist  in 
connection  with  medical  colleges,  hospitals,  etc.  That  of  the 
College  of  Plijsicians  and  Snrgeons  contains  about  twelve 
hundred  volumes.  This  collection  is  (when  accessible)  free  to 
the  Trustees,  Fellows,  and  matriculated  students  of  the  college. 
The  library  of  Eellevue  Hospital  contains  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  volumes.  It  is  intended  for  the  use  of  the  medical 
and  surgical  staff  of  the  hospital.  Its  increase  during  several 
years  past  has  been  nominal. 

The  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  during  the  past  year,  has  instituted  measures  for 
the  formation  of  a  library,  and  some  advance  has  been  made  in 
this  direction.  It  is  the  design  of  the  Faculty  to  prosecute  the 
work  with  increasing  diligence. 

Several  of  the  public  libraries  of  this  city  have  a  department 
of  medicine,  and  the  foremost  of  this  class,  in  point  of  number 
of  volumes,  is  the  Astor  Library.  This  library  contains  about 
seven  thousand  five  hundred  volumes  on  medicine  and  the 
collateral  sciences ;  including  chemistry,  botany,  and  medical 
periodicals.  It  is  free  to  all  who  wish  to  consult  it.  The  Mer- 
cantile Library  contains  about  one  thousand  volumes  on  medi- 
cine and  the  collateral  sciences.  The  New  York  Society 
Library  contains  also  about  one  thousand  volumes  on  medicine, 
botany,  etc.  The  two  last  named  require,  from  such  as  are  not 
members,  a  subscription  fee. 

The  library  of  the  College  of  Pharmacy  of  the  City  of  New 
York  contains  about  one  thousand  two  hundred  volumes  of 
standard  works  on  all  branches  of  the  pharmaceutical  pro- 
fession, and  includes  many  recent  works,  also  files  of  the 
American  and  Foreign  pharmaceutical  journals.  It  is  free  to 
the  members  and  alumni  of  the  college. 

I  appeal  to  you,  gentlemen, '  to  answer,  that  if  the  diver- 
sified efforts  in  past  years,  by  the  medical  men  of  New  York, 
in  establishing  small  and  separate  libraries,  had  been  concen- 
trated upon  one  object,  that  of  collecting   and  preserving  a 


ON   MEDICAL   LIBR ABIES.  IT 

single  large  reference  medical  library,  the  work  would  have 
been  already  accomplished  ? 

It  is  deemed  unnecessary  to  apologize  for  the  minutia  of 
the  details  which  we  have  given  of  the  efforts  of  the  medical 
profession  in  this  city  to  secure  for  itself  a  medical  library,  for 
in  these  details  are  disclosed  the  history,  and  method,  by  which 
the  profession  lost  its  vantage  ground  in  a  movement  which,  in 
more  than  one  sense  of  the  word,  is  an  element  of  professional 
growth,  improvement,  and  renown.  We  gather  from  these 
details  the  fact  that  the  lack  of  success  of  nearly  every  attempt 
lay  in  the  want  of  persistent  effort,  and  tlie  absence  of  a  per- 
manent home  in  which  the  organization  could  collect,  preserve, 
and  keep  intact — free  from  the  possibility  of  dispersion  the 
small  accessions  that  were  made  from  time  to  time  to  their 
collections.  Accumulation  is  almost  as  much  the  result  of 
preservation  as  of  addition  ;  and,  to  preserve  any  collection  of 
books,  a  place  of  permanent  deposit  is  a  certain  prerequisite  to 
ultimate  success.  And  now  that  we  have  such  a  place,  permit 
me  to  present  for  your  consideration  some  remarks  on  the  ways 
and  means  by  which  this  Academy  may  build  up  such  a  library. 

A  well-founded  medical  library  in  this  city,  and  under  the 
auspices  of  this  Academy,  can  be  accomplished  now  that  we 
possess  a  permanent  Home,  as  follows : 

1st.  The  institution  of  a  Library  Fund,  which  should  be  prop- 
erly invested  in  such  securities  as  will  be  safe  and  yet  yield  a 
fair  interest — this  interest  only  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of 
such  books  as  are  needed,  and  which  are  not  likely  to  come  into 
the  library  by  gift.  In  this  connection  let  me  say  that  the  Bar 
Association  of  this  city  laid  the  foundation  of  its  Library  Fund 
in  1870,  by  one  hundred  members  subscribing  $100  each  in 
cash.  This  fund,  I  learn,  affords  ample  means  for  all  necessary 
yearly  additions  to  the  library  of  that  institution,  which  now,  at 
the  end  of  six  years,  contains  ten  thousand  volumes. 

It  is  now  believed  by  many  that  the  institution  of  such  a 
fund  by  members  of  this  Academy  can  be  effectually  accom- 
plished. The  necessity  is  urgent !  Have  we  not  reason  to 
2 


18  DK.    PUKPLlc's    ADDKESS 

believe  that  in  all  divisions  of  knowledge  the  discovery  of  tlVe 
causes  of  lack  of  success  in  a  meritorious  enterprise  will  lead 
the  wise  and  good  to  develop  positive  means  for  remedying  the 
defect  ? 

2d.  By  voluntary  donations  of  medical  books,  pamphlets, 
journals,  portraits,  engravings,  busts,  manuscripts,  etc.,  etc., 
which  may  have  become  to  their  possessors  useless  or  burden- 
some. And  in  this  connection  I  would  respectfully  suggest  that 
for  the  better  encouragement  of  said  donations,  this  Academy 
direct  that  its  Library  shall  be  open  to  the  use  of  all  regular 
members  of  the  profession. 

A  popular  error  exists  in  the  profession,  and  it  has  done  mucli 
to  retard  the  establishment  of  a  good  reference  medical  library 
in  this  city.  There  are  not  a  few  who  believe  that  only  the  best 
books  and  latest  editions  are  wortli  preserving.  This  idea  has 
tended  greatly  to  retard  the  growth  of  our  own  Library  during 
even  the  past  two  years.  No  book  or  pamphlet  is  w^orthless ; 
every  waif  from  the  mental  laboratory  of  the  practical  physi- 
cian contains  a  fact,  or,  it  may  be  a  statement  of  facts,  which, 
however  darkly  concealed  or  obscured  by  peculiarities  of  lan- 
guage or  description,  will  ultimately  be  unearthed,  and  serve 
the  genius  of  practical  medicine  or  medical  history.  In  illus- 
tration of  the  truth  of  this  statement,  witness  the  recent  dis- 
closure which  your  speaker  made  first  in  tlie  Section  on  Ob- 
stetrics and  the  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  and  after- 
ward in  this  Academy,  that  more  than  a  century  since  Drs. 
Golden  and  Bard  described  here  epidemics  of  diphtlieria — the 
scourge  of  our  city  in  these  days. 

The  description  of  this  disease  by  Dr.  Golden,  in  1753,  lies 
concealed  in  a  somewhat  scarce  and  neglected  publication  of 
a  long  since  extinct  medical  society  of  London ;  *  whilst  the 
description  of  the  epidemic  of  this  disease  in  this  city,  in  1770, 
by  Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  is  contained  in  this  little  brochure  f  which 

*  Medical  Observations  and  Inquiries  by  a  Society  of  Physicians  of  London. 
Vol.  I.     London,  1757. 

f  An  Enquiry  into  the  Nature  and  cure  of  the  Angina  Suffocativa,  or  Sore 


ON    MEDICAL    LIBKARIE8.  10 

jonr  speaker  rescued  from  the  press-box  of  a  second-hand 
paper-dealer  in  tl^is  city  in  transitu  to  the  maw  of  a  paper- 
mill.  Its  former  owner  had  sold  it  for  the  eighth  part  of  a 
cent,  or  at  the  rate  of  two  cents  per  pound. 

With  your  permission,  I  will  I'ead  extracts  from  its  precious 
pages.     In  speaking  of  the  epidemic  he  says : 

"  In  general,  this  disease  was  confined  to  children  under  ten 
years  old,  though  some  few  grown  persons,  particularly  women 
(while  it  prevailed),  had  symptoms  in  some  respects  resembling 
it.  Most  of  those  who  had  it  were  observed  to  droop  for 
several  days  before  they  wei'C  confined.  And  the  first  symp- 
toms, in  inost  instances,  were  a  slightly  inflamed  and  watery 
eye,  a  bloated  and  livid  countenance,  with  a  few  red  eruptions 
here  and  there  upon  the  face,  and  in  one  case  a  small  ulcer  in 
the  nose,  whence  oozed  an  ichor  so  sharp  as  to  inflame  and 
erode  the  upper  lip.  At  the  same  time,  or  very  soon  after, 
such  as  could  speak  complained  of  an  uneasy  sensation  in  the 
throat,  but  without  any  great  soreness  or  pain.  Upon  examin- 
ing it  the  tonsils,  or  almonds,  appeared  swelled  and  slightly 
inflamed  with  a  few  white  specks  upon  them,  which  in  some 
increased  so  as  to  cover  them  all  over  with  one  general  slough, 
and  in  a  few  the  swelling  was  so  great  as  almost  to  close  up  the 
passage  of  the  throat ;  but  this,  although  a  frequent  symptom, 
did  not  invariably  attend  the  disease ;  and  some  had  all  the 
other  symptoms  without  it.  The  breath  was  either  no  ways 
(»ifensive,  or  had  only  that  kind  of  smell  which  is  occasioned  by 
worms ;  and  the  swallowing  was  very  little,  if  at  all,  impeded. 

"  These  symptoms,  with  a  slight  fever  at  night,  continued  in 
some  for  five  or  six  days  without  alarming  their  friends  ;  in 
.others  a  difficulty  of  breathing  came  on  within  twenty-four 
houi*s,  esj)ecially  in  the  time  of  sleep,  and  was  often  suddenly 
increased  to  so  great  a  degree  as  to  threaten  immediate  suffoca- 
tion.    In  general,  however,  it  came  on  later,  increased  more 


Throat  Distemper,  as  it  is  commonly  called  by  the  Inhabitants  of  this  City  and 
Colony.  By  Samuel  Bard,  M.D.,  and  Professor  of  Medicine  in  King's  College, 
New  York.    New  York  :  MDCCLXXI. 


20  DE.  purple's  address 

gradually,  and  was  not  constant;  but  the  patient  wonld  now 
and  then  enjoy  an  interval  of  an  hour  or  two  in  which  he 
breathed  with  ease,  and  then  again  a  laborious  breathing  would 
ensue,  during  which  he  seemed  incapable  of  filling  his  lungs, 
as  if  the  air  was  drawn  through  a  too  narrow  passage, 

"  This  stage  of  the  disease  was  attended  with  a  very  great 
and  sudden  prostration  of  strength  -,  a  very  remarkable  hollow, 
dry  cough,  and  a  peculiar  change  in  the  tone  of  the  voice,  not 
easily  described,  but  so  singular  that  a  person  who  had  once 
heard  it  could  almost  certainly  know  the  disease  again  b}'  hear- 
ing the  patient  cough  or  speak.  In  some  the  voice  was  almost 
entirely  lost,  and  would  continue  very  weak  and  low  for  several 
weeks  after  recovery.  A  constant  fever  attended  this  disease, 
but  it  was  much  more  remarkable  in  the  night  than  in  the 
day  time  ;  and  in  some  there  was  a  remarkable  remission  to- 
wards morning.  The  pulse  at  the  wrist  was  in  general  quick, 
soft,  and  fluttering,  though  not  very  low,  and  it  was  remarkable 
that  at  the  same  time  the  pulsations  of  the  heart  were  rather 
strong  and  smart  than  feeble.  The  heat  was  not  very  great, 
and  the  skin  was  commonly  moist. 

"  These  symptoms  continued  for  one,  two,  or  three  days.  By 
that  time  it  was  usual  for  them  to  be  greatly  increased  in  such  as 
died  ;  and  the  patients,  though  commonly  somewhat  comatous 
from  the  beginning,  now  became  much  more  so  ;  yet  even  when 
the  disorder  was  at  the  worst,  they  retained  their  senses,  and 
would  give  distinct  answers  when  spoken  to  ;  although,  on  being 
left  to  themselves,  they  lay  for  the  most  part  in  a  lethargic  situa- 
tion, only  raising  up  now  and  then  to  receive  their  drink. 
Great  restlessness  and  jactation  came  on  towards  the  end  of 
the  disease,  the  sick  perpetually  tossing  from  one  side  of  the 
bed  to  the  other,  but  they  were  still  so  far  comatous  as  to  appear 
to  be  asleep,  immediately  upon  changing  their  situation  or 
posture.  An  universal  languor  and  dejection  were  observed 
in  their  countenances;  the  swelling  of  the  face  subsided;  a 
profuse  sweat  broke  out  about  the  head,  neck,  and  breast,  par- 
ticularly when   asleep ;  a   purging  in   several  came  on  ;    the 


ON  MEDICAL   LIBEAKIES.  21 

difficulty  of  breathing  increased,  so  as  to  be  frequently  almost 
entirely  obstructed,  and  the  patient  died  apparently  from 
suffocation.  This  commonly  happened  about  the  end  of  the 
fourth  or  fifth  day ;  in  several  within  thirty-six  hours  from 
the  time  the  difficulty  of  breathing  first  came  on. 

"  One  child,  however,  lived,  under  these  circumstances,  to 
the  eighth  day ;  and  the  day  before  he  died,  his  breath  and 
what  he  coughed  up  was  somewhat  offensive ;  but  this  was 
the  only  instance  in  which  I  could  discover  anything  like  a 
disagreeable  smell,  either  from  the  breath  or  expectoration. 

"  Out  of  sixteen  cases  attended  with  this  remarkable  suffoca- 
tion in  breathing,  seven  died  ;  five  of  them  before  the  fifth  day, 
the  other  two  about  the  eighth.  Of  those  who  recovered,  the 
disease  was  carried  off  in  one,  by  a  plentiful  salivation,  which 
began  on  the  sixth  day ;  in  most  of  the  others,  by  an  expecto- 
ration of  a  viscid  mucus."     .... 

"  One  of  the  firet  families  in  which  this  disease  appeared  was 
that  of  Mr.  W.  W.,  of  this  place.  He  had  seven  children  in 
his  family,  all  of  whom  were  taken  ill,  one  after  another.  The 
four  first  had  the  disease  as  I  have  just  now  described,  and 
three  of  these  died  ;  the  one  who  recovered  was  the  instance  I 
mentioned,  in  which  the  disease  was  carried  off  by  a  salivation. 
The  other  three  were  the  youngest.  They  had  not  the  difli- 
culty  of  breathing,  but,  in  its  stead,  very  troublesome  ulcers 
behind  their  ears.  These  began  with  a  few  red  pimples,  which 
soon  run  together,  itched  violently,  and  discharged  a  greal  deal 
of  a  very  sharp  ichor,  so  as  to  erode  the  neighboring  parts,  and 
in  a  few  days  spread  all  over  the  back  part  of  the  ear,  and 
down  upon  the  neck.  They  all  had  a  fever,  particularly  at 
night,  and  one  of  them  had  a  perpetual  tenesmus  {or  urging 
to  go  to  stool).  This  symptom  appeared  in  some  who  had  the 
difficulty  of  breathing,  but  in  none  to  so  remarkable  a  degree 
as  in  this  child. 

"  After  this  many  other  children  had  similar  ulcers  behind 
their  ears,  and  some  of  them  seemed  slightly  affected  with  the 
difficulty  of  breathing  ;  but  it  never  became  alarming  while  this 


22  DR.  purple's  address 

discharge  contimied.  These  iik;ers  would  continue  for  several 
weeks,  appeared  covered  in  some  places  with  sloughs,  resem- 
hliug  those  on  the  tonsils,  and  at  last  grew  very  painful  and 
uneasy. 

"  In  some  cases  they  were  attended  with  swellings  of  the 
glands  under  the  tongue  and  behind  the  ears,  which  subsided 
on  the  eruption  appearing  and  discharging  freely,  and  again 
swelled  upon  the  discharge  being  checked."     ..... 

"I  have  had  an  apportunity  of  examining  the  nature  and 
seat  of  this  disease,  from  dissection,  in  three  instances.  One 
was  a  child  of  three  years  old.  Her  first  complaint  was  an 
uneasiness  in  her  throat.  Upon  examining  it,  the  tonsils 
appeared  swelled  and  inflamed,  with  large  white  sloughs  upon 
them,  the  edges  of  which  were  remarkably  more  red  than  the 
other  parts  of  the  throat.  She  had  no  great  soreness  in  her 
throat,  and  could  swallow  with  little  or  no  difficulty.  She 
complained  of  a  pain  under  her  left  breast ;  her  pulse  was 
quick,  soft,  and  fluttering.  The  heat  of  her  body  was  not  very 
great,  and  her  skin  was  moist ;  her  face  was  swelled  ;  she  had  a 
considerable  prostration  of  strength,  with  a  very  great  difficulty 
of  breathing,  a  very  remarkable  hollow  cough,  and  a  peculiar 
change  in  the  tone  of  her  voice.  The  next  day  her  difficulty 
of  breathing  was  increased,  and  she  drew  her  breath  in  the 
manner  before  described,  as  if  the  air  was  forced  through  too 
narrow  a  passage,  so  that  she  seemed  incapable  of  filling  her 
lungs.  She  was  exceedingly  restless,  tossing  perpetually  from 
side  to  side,  was  sensible,  and,  when  asked  a  question,  would 
"•ive  a  pertinent  answer,  but  otherways  she  appeared  dull  and 
comatous.  All  these  symptoms  continued,  or  rather  increased, 
until  the  third  night,  on  which  she  had  five  or  six  loose  stools, 
and  died  early  in  the  morning. 

*'  Upon  examining  the  body,  which  was  done  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  she  died,  all  the  back  parts  of  the  throat,  and 
the  root  of  the  tongue,  were  found  interspersed  with  sloughs, 
which  still  retained  their  whitish  color.  Upon  removing  them, 
the  parts  underneath  appeared  i-atlier  pale  than  inflamed.     No 


ON   MEDICAL   LIBRARIES.  23 

putrid  smell  could  be  perceived  from  them,  nor  was  the  corpse 
in  the  least  offensive.  The  (esophagus,  or  guUet,  appeared  as 
in  a  sound  state.  The  epiglottis,  which  covers  the  wind-j)vpe^ 
was  a  little  inflamed,  on  its  external  surface,  and  on  the  inner 
side,  together  with  the  whole  larynx,  was  covered  with  the 
same  tough  white  sloughs  as  the  glands  of  the  throat.  The 
whole  trachea,  quite  down  to  its  division  in  the  lungs,  was 
lined  with  an  inspissated  mucus,  in  form  of  a  membrane,  re-  ' 
markably  tough  and  firm,  which,  when  it  came  into  the  lungs, 
seemed  to  grow  thin  and  disappear.  It  was  so  tough  as  to 
require  no  inconsiderable  force  to  tear  it,  and  came  out  whole 
from  the  trachea,  which  it  left  with  much  ease,  and  resembled 
more  than  anything,  both  in  thickness  and  appearance,  a  sheath 
of  thin  shammoy  leather.  The  inner  membrane  of  the  trachea 
was  slightly  inflamed  ;  the  lungs  too  appeared  inflamed,  as  in 
peripneumonic  cases ;  particularly  the  right  lobe,  on  which  there 
were  many  large  livid  spots,  though  neither  rotten  nor  offen- 
sive ;  and  the  left  lobe  had  small  black  spots  on  it,  resembling 
those  marks  left  under  the  skin  by  gunpowder.  Upon  cutting 
into  any  of  the  larger  spots,  which  appeared  on  the  right  lobe, 
a  bloody  sanies  issued  from  them  without  frothing,  whereas, 
upon  cutting  those  parts  which  appeared  sound,  a  whitish 
froth,  but  slightly  tinged  with  blood,  followed  the  knife.".  .  . 

"  This  is  a  faithful  history  of  this  complaint,  as  it  appeai-ed 
in  most  of  the  cases  I  have  met  with,  and  in  which  1  have  been 
careful  to  enumerate  such  symptoms  only  as  I  myself  have 
seen."     •     •     •     • 

"Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  lam  led  to  conclude  that  the 
disease  called  by  the  Italians  morbus  strangulatorius,  the  croup 
of  Dr.  Home,  the  sore  throat  of  Huxham  and  Fothergill,  this 
disease,  and  that  described  by  Doctor  Douglass  of  Boston,  how- 
ever they  may  differ  in  the  symptoms  of  putrescency  and  malig- 
nancy, do  all  bear  an  essential  aftinity  and  relation  to  each  other, 
are  apt  to  run  into  one  another,  and,  in  fact,  arise  from  the  same 
Leven,  which,  as  Doctor  Fothergill  stiles  it,  is  a  stimulus  of 
a  peculiar  nature,  which  more  or  less,  according  to  particular 


24  DR.  pukple's  address 

circumstances,  generates  an  acrimony  in  the  humours,  and  dis- 
poses them  to  putrifaction,  and  which  has  a  singular  tendency 
to  attack  the  throat  and  trachea,  affecting  the  mucous  glands 
of  these  parts  in  such  a  way  as  to  occasion  them  to  secrete  their 
natural  mucus  in  greater  quantities  than  is  sufficient  for  the 
purposes  of  nature  ;  and  which,  in  this  particular  species,  when 
secreted,  is  either  really  of  a  tougher,  or  more  viscid  consistence 
than  natural,  or  is  disposed  to  become  so  from  rest  and 
stagnation," 

"  The  disease  I  have  described  appeared  evidently  to  be  of 
an  infectious  nature  :  all  infection  must  be  owing  to  something 
received  into  the  body ;  this,  therefore,  whatever  it  is,  being 
drawn  in  by  the  breath  of  a  healthy  child,  irritates  the  glands 
of  the  fauces  and  trachea  as  it  passes  by  them,  and  brings  about 
a  change  in  their  secretions.  The  infection,  however,  did  not 
seem  in  the  present  case  to  depend  so  much  on  any  prevailing 
disposition  of  the  air,  as  upon  affluvia  received  from  the  breath 
of  infected  persons.  This  will  account  why  the  disorder 
should  go  through  a  whole  family,  and  not  affect  the  next-door 
neighbor ;  and  hence  we  learn  a  very  useful  lesson,  namely,  to 
remove  all  the  young  children  in  a  family  as  soon  as  any  one 
is  taken  with  the  disease ;  by  which  caution,  I  am  convinced, 
many  lives  have  been,  and  may  again  be  preserved. 

"  Such  are  the  sentiments  which,  from  an  attentive  observa- 
tion of  the  symptoms  and  progress  of  this  disease,  1  have  en- 
tertained of  its  nature "  .  .  .  .  "It  has  gone  too  much  under 
the  appellation  of  a  sore-throat,  and  has  by  many  been  con- 
founded with  the  common  diseases  of  that  kind,  so  that  parents 
have  often  been  greatly  alarmed  where  there  was  no  cause  of 
fear,  and  much  terrified  where  there  was  no  symptom  of  dan- 
ger. In  truth,  the  throat,  altlio'  frequently  affected,  is  not  the 
seat  of  the  disease,  and  many  have  died  where  that  has  been 
entirely  free  from  complaint ;  nor  are  swelled  tonsils,  an  in- 
flammation in  the  throat,  even  where  it  should  happen  to  be 
specked,  or  a  palate  hanging  to  one  side,  any  more  the  marlcs 
of  this  distemper  than  a  very  laborious  breathing ,  a  hoarse 


ON   MEDICAL   LIBKAKIES.  25 

fiollow  cough,  and  a  peculiar  change  in  the  tone  of  the  voice, 
unattended  with  inflammation,  are  the  signs  of  a  common 
quinsey." 

The  disease  which  Dr.  Bard  thus  described,  writes  the  learned 
Dr.  Mitchill,  *  more  than  fifty  years  since,  "  has  puzzled  the 
physicians  who  Lave  read  his  publication.  For  Cullen,  the 
acute  nosologist,  places  it  in  the  list  of  work  on  the  cynanche 
maligna  ;  while  Albers,  the  successful  competitor  for  the  Bona- 
partean  medal,  quotes  it  as  a  treatise  on  cynanche  ti-achealis. 
The  former  classes  it  with  writings  on  the  malignant  or  ulcer- 
ous sore -throat,  while  the  latter  ranks  it  with  the  publications 
on  croup  or  tracheitis  infantum.  It  is  remarkable  (continues 
the  learned  Doctor)  that  Cullen  should  have  mistaken  the  mal- 
ady for  cynanche  maligna,  since  the  three  dissections  of  chil- 
dren, who  died  of  it,  all  proved  the  existence  of  a  tough  lining 
of  inspissated  mucus  or  lymph  in  the  ti^achea.  That  great  man 
was  probably  misled  by  the  name  of  sore-throat  distemper,  by 
the  symptom  of  troublesome  ulcers  behind  the  ears,  and  by 
the  opinion  of  the  author  that  it  was  of  an  infectious  nature." 

How  strange  and  yet  interesting  these  declarations  of  the 
learned  men  of  one  hundred,  or  even  fifty  years  since,  appear 
in  the  light  of  the  modern  doctrines  of  semeiology  and  pathol- 
ogy! And  with  how  much  greater  respect  do  we  regaixi  the 
clinical  acumen  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Baixi,  whom  we  are 
proud  to  recognize  as  the  author  of  the  first  American  treatise 
on  the  Art  and  Science  of  Midwifery ! 

This  small  tract  was  translated  into  the  French  language  by 
M.  Ruett,  and  published  in  Paris  in  1810,  more  than  ten  years 
before  M.  Bretonneau's  first  paper  ap]>eared. 

Will  any  Fellow  of  this  Academy,  from  this  time  forward, 
despise  the  day  of  small  things,  or  consign  to  collectors  of 
i-ags  or  paper  stock  the  pamphlets,  or  old  editions  of  medical 

*  A  Discourse  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Samuel  Bard,  M.D.,  LL.D. 
By  Samuel  L.  MitchiU,  M.D.,  LL.D.    New  York :  1821. 


26  DR.  purple's  address. 

works,  wliich  he  may  weed  from  his  library  or  garret  ?  Will 
not  all  bear  in  constant  remembrance  that  here,  in  this  onr 
own  Medical  Home,  will  be  gratefully  received  and  carefully 
treasured  every  tract,  pamphlet,  book,  manuscript,  engraving, 
portrait,  small  or  great,  which  may  be  donated  ? 

And,  finally,  Fellows  of  the  Academy,  this  Institution  can 
only  advance  in  the  estimation  of  the  profession  by  the  most 
persevering  labor  of  each  one  of  us.  The  science  of  medicine 
claims  from  its  votaries  the  most  persistent  devotion  ;  and  any 
contribution  made  here  to  that  science,  or  to  any  of  its  depart- 
ments, by  the  younger  members  of  this  Academy,  will  secure 
for  them  respect  as  profound  as  that  given  to  the  eldest  Fel- 
lows among  us.  And  here,  before  entering  fully  upon  a  new 
term  of  service,  let  me  ask  every  one  of  yon :  Does  the  medical 
world  l>elong  only  to  the  generation  whicli  inhabits  it  ?  Is  it 
not  rather  an  entailed  estate,  the  income  of  which  the  present 
possessors  have  the  right  to  enjoy,  but  not  the  right  to  squander 
or  scatter  ?  Are  they  not  in  honor  bound  to  preserve  the  estate 
intact,  institute  and  develop  such  permanent  improvements  as 
will  tend  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  generations  which  will 
follow?  Such  are  the  dictates  of  a  generous  philanthropy, 
which  emanate  from  a  proper  love  of  mankind,  and  have  the 
approval  of  that  sound  judgment  which  is  strengthened  by  ob- 
servation and  matured  by  age.  Let  not,  then,  those  who  have 
labored  for  years  past  to  build  up  here  an  institution  that  shall 
advance  the  best  interests  of  medicine,  and  at  the  same  time  be 
as  free  as  possible  from  the  foibles  of  the  profession,  become 
weary  in  heart;  the  design  is  being  steadily  carried  into 
eft'ect ;  the  end  can  be  surely  reached — the  object  will,  by  per- 
severing effort,  be  accomplished. 

Again,  fellow  associates,  let  me  ask  your  indulgence  while  I 
attempt  to  discharge  impartially  the  duties  which  your  favor 
a  second  time  has  devolved  upon  me. 


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